Manhunting Masquerade

Chloe Leclaire is a woman on a mission. Turning 25 made her question her reserved blue-blood upbringing, and she has made a pact with her two best friends: Each vows to take more chances, to be more daring, and to wrangle herself a man. The Silk Masquerade offers the three women the perfect chance to live out their wildest fantasies, all while remaining anonymous. Chloe has never lost a bet, and shes not about to start with this one.

At the ball, a disguised Chloe vows to flirt outrageously and aggressively proposition the man whos been visiting her dreams, sexy financier Eric Matteo. Will she be bold enough to go through with it? And is there any truth to a fortune-tellers prediction that shell have to contend with not one, but two, willing suitors in the course of the evening?

Chapter Two

Chloe tossed her curls over one shoulder and closed the distance between her and Eric Matteo. She didnt dare give herself time to think about what she was going to say, or what she was going to do. With the assurance of her hidden identity, she would just say the first thing that came to mind when she reached him.

Shoving between a caped vampire and a gloved Michael Jackson impersonator, Chloe glided to a halt in front of her gladiator soontobelover and gave her full red skirts a little shake  just enough of a flounce to be sure the slit in the hem provided a glimpse of the bright red garters shed invested in for tonight.

"I found a balcony two doors down that would make a perfect trysting place," she blurted, her words chasing one another in a rather lessthansultry rush. "Care to join me?"

Eric stared at her for a long moment, his intense brown eyes absorbing every last inch of her red dress.

"Depends if were really trysting or if youre just warming up for another round of Crucify the Witness, I guess. What exactly did you have in mind, Chloe?"

Horrified to be identified within the first 10 seconds of her covert mission, Chloe nearly teetered right off her two and half inch heels. "How did you know it was me?"

Eric stepped closer to slide one finger beneath her red, feathered mask and peeled it away from her face. "Id know those red curls and that flowery scent anywhere."

The warmth of his touch tripped through her until she barely managed to suppress a sensual shiver. She frowned, more than a little embarrassed to be recognized so early in the game. "But I always wear my hair up in court."

"That whole time you were crossexamining me right into a deadlock jury, I was thinking about what it would look like if I took it down. " He reached to touch one springy lock. "I have a pretty good imagination."

A rush of heat stole through her at his words. Shed nearly lost that case because it had been so difficult to concentrate while crossexamining him. What woman could think straight with a man  especially this man  looking at her like that? Well, that wasnt a concern anymore, thanks to a closed case and a new day. Or night, as it were. Before she could figure out how to extricate herself from an exceedingly awkward situation, Eric flashed her a wicked grin.

"Now, what were you saying about a tryst?"

Chloe bit her lip, knowing it would be far more daring  and difficult  to proposition him since her cover had been blown. Did she have the nerve? She looked around the room for a glimpse of Lexi or Amanda, anything to give her the final nudge to take that last adventurous step.

Instead of finding a thumbsup from Cleopatra, however, Chloes eyes locked on the only other man shed ever propositioned in her life. The man whod turned her down, despite her most heartfelt attempts at seduction.

Austin Radley.

Chloe hadnt confronted Austin since that night hed roared out of her life on his fathers Harley. The night of the prom that had broken her high school heart, while Austin had pursued his own dreams at an outofstate college.

Yet here was Austin, the man whod been the focus of her every girlhood dream, homing in on her through the glittering Manhattan party as surely as if hed been tracking her with radar. And damned if he wasnt dressed as a medieval knight  complete with shining armor. Or did they call that chain mail? Either way, he wore some sort of silvery metal shirt over his very impressive chest, and a sword strapped to his side.

"Chloe?" Austins voice mingled with Erics as they said her name in unison.

The fortunetellers warnings floated back to her. Who would have believed she, Chloe Leclaire  smartgirlinthefrontrowturnedboringattorney  would be standing between the two most gorgeous men in the room tonight?

She couldnt play vamp to Eric with Austin looking on. She needed to settle this, here and now. Turning to Eric, she asked, "Would you excuse me?"

He nodded, but his dark brown eyes were alert. "Im not going anywhere."

Chloe turned to greet Austin, who didnt waste any time with talk, preferring to kiss her full on the lips instead.

His mouth brushed hers, warm and inviting. Seven years after the last time hed kissed her, and he still teased her senses with the same cologne. She couldnt deny the leap of her pulse at his touch. Or ignore the heat of Erics watchful gaze.

"Its been a long time," Austin whispered in her ear before pulling away. His green eyes raked over her dress and he smiled the killer grin  complete with dimple  shed never forgotten. "You look gorgeous."

"You dont look so bad yourself." Determined to play it cool until she at least figured out his intent, Chloe took an extra step back to give herself a little more breathing room. Thinking room.

Sure she wanted to be daring tonight, but it looked like she could be in for some difficult choices. She wanted to be sure her ability to reason wasnt compromised by a stray whiff of mens cologne. "What are you doing here?"

Austin snagged her hand and kissed the palm. "Isnt it obvious? Im here for you."